Dawid Krysiński
library of congress
Right-about
Modernism?
Towards Sustainable Transportation
Just as Ruth Glass is often quoted in discussions on the origin of the gentrification
discourse, Jane Jacobs is a symbol of breaking free from modernist fascination with
the car and its presence in urban space. Her
famous reference to the need to ‘temper the
automobile’ is deep-rooted in urban reality.
Traffic congestion, environmental pollution
and intense suburbanisation are just some of
the consequences of automotive expansion
into urban space1. This expansion was stimulated by modernist architects and planners,
fascinated by modern technology, including the increasingly accessible cars. Due to
unintended consequences of mass motoring,
J. Wesołowski, Miasto w ruchu. Przewodnik po dobrych
praktykach w organizowaniu transportu miejskiego [City
in Motion. A Guide to Good Practices in Public Transport
Organisation], Łódź: Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich, 2008,
p. 17.
1
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Paul Rudolph, unrealised design of Lower Manhattan
Expressway in New York of 1967-72 – a modernist city
vision prioritising car traffic
library of congress
It seems crucial to realise the density of the
changes involved in order to comprehend why
the idea of sustainable transport propagates
in Poland with such difficulty and why it is
happening now.
Jacobs’ ideas merely initiated wide-ranging
changes in urban policy which were termed
‘sustainable transport’. The essence of this
concept was giving priority to the most efficient and cost-effective means of transport;
however, it took into account not only strictly
economic issues but also the condition of areas
surrounding car-dominated roads. Hence, decreasing attractiveness of a street to its users
and increasing pollution or lack of space for
those traffic participants who did not use cars
started to be referred to as cost. Finally, it was
acknowledged that the city should be considered in a new light, abandoning the idea of
extensive development and focusing on the
old ideas of concise, multi-functional space
where motoring would not be as indispensable
as at the time of late modernism.
This postmodernist concept took roots the earliest, in the 1970s, in Western Europe. In time
it also caught on in the United States, and
eventually reached post-communist countries,
including Poland. This happened just after the
fall of communism, which is not incidental.
Opening the country to Western solutions
meant not only that Western political and economic concepts were transplanted into Poland
but also that values characteristic of more
developed societies were adopted here, as well.
Sociologists refer to such processes as imitational transformation, stressing that conspicuous imitation refers to models from several
stages of capitalism concurrently2. It may
result in bizarre solutions that accumulate in
one place and at the same time in effect of a
longer and at times internally contradictory
historical process. The situation is further
complicated by local conditions, determined
both by pre-transformation characteristics
and consequences of the transformation itself.
M. Ziółkowski, O imitacyjnej modernizacji
społeczeństwa polskiego, [w:] Imponderabilia wielkiej
zmiany. Mentalność, wartości i więzi społeczne czasów
transformacji, red. P. Sztompka, Warszawa – Kraków:
Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1999, s. 42.
Besides the first transport strategies of the
1990s, the pace of proliferation of the above
idea in Poland was set by car expansion, similarly to the West. It happened, however, much
later than in Western Europe because the car
industry began to develop dynamically only
after 1989. The process was further precipitated
by Poland’s accession to the European Union
which increased availability of relatively cheap
Western vehicles that received ‘a new lease on
life’ east of the Oder3. With the propagation of
private car ownership, there emerged traffic
problems in big cities, which became so cumbersome that it was necessary to seek remedies.
Shortage of parking spaces, noise, traffic jams
or pavements blocked by cars raise objections
among different groups of residents not only
due to actual difficulties but also in response to
visual alterations of urban space. If in the first
decade of Poland’s transformation it was commonly believed that transportation problems
could be solved by making up for infrastructure
backlog (building long-planned ring roads or
inter-city roads), in the second decade this
view clashed with calls to turn towards the
idea of sustainable transport. According to the
proponents of this approach, both activists and
academics, experiences of Western European
countries imply that there is no other way to
solve transport problems in cities. Building new
roads will not help because all it does is encourage people to use cars. Enlarging car parks in
city centres is pointless because they will fill
up anyway. If the mounting problem is to be
2
M. Beim, Zapiski zakorkowanego mieszczucha [Notes of
a Townee Stuck in a Jam] ‘Rzeczy Wspólne’, 2011, No. 1(3),
p. 95.
3
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solved, then, according to activists and
academics, there must be a reversal of policy
to show the car its place in the line, and to
demonstrate that it is not necessarily (in fact,
it should not be) the basic means of transport
in the city because there are other, more ecological vehicles that take up less space: buses,
trams, trains or bicycles. The idea of Warsaw’s
Marszałkowska street as a promenade, the
discussion on the layout of Mogilska street in
Krakow, disputes on the layout of Poznań’s
Święty Marcin street or of Kazimierza Wielkiego street in Wroclaw, and even protests
against the inter-district road between
Krakow’s Ruczaj housing estate and the city
centre are just a few selected examples of how
the concept of sustainable development has
been introduced into the public discourse.
However, given the context of current local
authorities’ policies, the chances for this idea
to catch on are really slight.
Culture or Structure?
Importing the concept of sustainable
transport means not only voicing various
demands but also showing disapproval of the
present-day transport policy in Polish cities.
Critics claim that it reflects tendencies long
abandoned in Western Europe. Antagonists
emphasise local authorities’ inconsistency
towards development plans which, contrary
to actual practice, adequately reflect the
principles of sustainable development, even
though they were often agreed at the beginning of the political transformation. In this
context, critics also point out that side by
side with construction projects promoting
public transport, there are other projects
which solidify modernist, car-oriented forms
of urban space. Hence, proposals to widen
city streets, build interchanges within city
limits and reduce accessibility to public
transport are opposed. If objections against
local authorities’ policies are considered
justified, there follows the question of the
source of the discrepancy between transport
strategies and local officials’ actual policies
which hinder the implementation of transport sustainability.
Proposed justifications usually refer to the
cultural sphere, viewed from the perspective of the society’s aspirations. It is notable
that the Polish society remains fascinated
by motoring, and the car, even if increasingly accessible, is still regarded as a status
symbol. This approach to motoring should be
taken into account in local policies since the
authorities are as involved in the local culture as other residents but they also adjust
their choices to their voters’ expectations.
As a consequence, we have yet to wait for the
Poles to change their attitude to motoring; it
will come when the market is saturated and
a car of one’s own ceases to show, just like a
computer or a mobile phone, who we are and
how much we have4. This line of reasoning
echoes Inglehart’s transition from materialist values to postmaterialism, which, in the
case of motoring, would mean a departure
from the still widespread and individualised
consumption towards public transport perceived as less cumbersome for urban space.
The birth of social movements involved in
the propagation of the idea of sustainable
transport in Polish cities is given as a proof
of the changes that may gradually lead the
Polish society towards postmaterialism.
And yet such justifications seem unsatisfactory, even if they are obviously right. The
cultural sphere must be understood in a
4
M. Szałkowski, Dojrzewanie do ustępstw [Getting Ready to Compromise] interview conducted
by A. Serbeńska, http://edroga.pl/drogi-i-mosty/
zarzadzanie/85-dojrzewanie-do-ustepstw, 05.05.2009
(access: 30.11.2009).
broader sense, beyond the Poles’ (especially
drivers’) view of the car as a status symbol.
This approach, even if it stems from consumerist fascination with cars, is also rooted in
the general image of the desired political system in Poland. A cultural justification must
refer to the fascination with neoliberalism,
which, Andreas Billert observes, has been
popular among Polish elites ever since the
start of the political transformation. Billert
points out that ‘Neoliberal ideas have met
(…) with an almost enthusiastic response
among Polish economists, which has resulted
in the implementation of a «shock therapy»
and the Polish transformation model. The
consequences of such an orientation and the
resultant model of transformation have been
felt, first and foremost, by Polish cities’5. As a
result of shaping the social reality according
to the liberal model, using a private car ceases to be solely a consumerist decision driven
by fascination with this good. Purchasing
a car of one’s own is clearly a convenience,
and sometimes even a necessity preventing
social exclusion. Thus, a cultural matter
becomes structural and cannot simply be
defined in terms of more or less conscious
habits or choices made by the Poles. The decision to use a car becomes an inevitable necessity, which is well-illustrated by economic
and legal determinants of both transportation policies in Polish cities (and, to be more
exact, public transport organisation) and
urban and suburban spatial development.
A. Billert, Miasta w postindustrialnej Europie i w
kleszczach polskiej transformacji, [Cities in Postindustrial Europe and in the Throngs of Polish Transformation] [in:] Miasto w działaniu. Zrównoważony rozwój
z perspektywy oddolnej, [City in Action. Sustainable
Development from the Grassroots Perspective] [transl.
Anna Mirosławska-Olszewska] ed. P. Filar, P. Kubicki,
Instytut Obywatelski, Warszawa 2012, p. 75.
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Public Transport in Retreat
The past two decades have not been favourable for public transport. Although before
the political transformation it used to be the
basic mode of travelling, since 1989 the situation started to change. The closure of many
workplaces and gradual popularisation of
private car ownership reduced the demand
for employee transportation. It resulted
in a limitation of the scope of transportation services offered, which in turn made
public transport less attractive but decreased
takings of the sale of tickets. Formed at the
beginning of the transformation, local and
provincial authorities bailed out stateowned public transport enterprises but only
to a certain extent. Their subsidies rarely
balanced increasing running costs of the
existing network of connections. Moreover,
the time of the rolling stock supply according to the central distribution list was over,
so enterprises had to deal with bus and tram
replacements on their own. Faced with financial difficulties, local governments found
it increasingly difficult to meet growing
demands of transport providers, and readily
justified spending cuts claiming that connections were unprofitable and that in market
economy public transport should be self-sustaining. In practice, it resulted in a decrease
in the scope of the transport services offered,
fostering the use of cars in urban space,
and particularly in the environs. Above all,
this policy affected those who did use public
transport but were not able to make it sufficiently profitable. It could be said, therefore,
that liberal policy of local governments was
(and still is) a convenient way to address difficulties that are at least partly independent
of local and regional authorities.
A radical free market approach to transportation issues is perceivable also when
it comes to stimulating competition in the
transport market. In this case liberalism
in local or regional policies is a secondary
effect in relation to extreme pro-market
regulations at country level. Until recently,
legislature enabled local governments to
freely issue transport services licences to
private economic subjects. Theoretically,
it was supposed to foster making the offer
client-friendly but in practice this approach
resulted in stiff competition at the cost of
security and quality of the transport services
(a lack of tariff integration or even standardized and easily accessible information on
schedules of various transport providers is
unsurprising). Moreover, such competition
focused solely on the places with major passenger streams. Less frequented routes were
left up to public transport providers who
struggled with restructuring and a deteriorating financial situation. The model of
passenger transport organisation in Poland
lacked such regulations which would allow
consistent, clear and reliable transport
services.
were unwilling to reach to local or regional
budgets since they were half-empty and, as it
was mentioned above, it would be preferable
if private transport financed itself (at least
largely) independently.
Yet even obliging local governments to
organise public transport does not guarantee success in this field. There have been
attempts to curb the hitherto prevailing,
unrestrained market practices with a law
that imposed on local and regional authorities the duty to pass transportation plans
and to hold tenders on transport services
meeting the needs of residents of communes,
districts and provinces. In practice, when
new regulations first entered into force, it
led to disagreements between the former
transport providers and local governments,
instead of putting the situation in order and
enabling systematic financing of transport
services. The former demanded that the local
governments should subsidise them under
the present legal regulations. The latter
Spatial Eldorado
In the context of such difficulties public transport was becoming decreasingly
versatile to potential clients, and at times
disappeared completely from city environs,
forcing former passengers to cope on their
own or to get to nearby localities. In this
situation a private car was indispensable,
as the Polish General Social Survey results
clearly illustrate. They reveal that the farther a locality is from cities, the greater the
number of cars, regardless of their users’ income. In suburbs the car is not a privilege. It
has become a necessity in daily life without
which doing errands would be next to impossible. Satisfying daily needs does not happen
in a vacuum and usually entails driving to
nearby cities. That in turn increases congestion in cities which municipal authorities
find increasingly difficult to cope with.
Difficulties in organising and financing
public transport stem not only from liberalminded local and regional elites’ professed
preference for self-sufficiency when called
to increase expenditure on transport out of
emptyish local government budgets. They are
also the aftermath of equally liberal spatial
planning, determined by country regulations. This issue is discussed at length by
above mentioned Andreas Billert who points
out that Polish legislature allows chaotic
property development, welcomed by local
governments which do not impose any requirements on investors. The lack of a broader urban planning vision results not only
in building housing estates devoid of proper
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infrastructure but also leads to uncontrolled
and unregulated suburban sprawl. Buildings
are erected in places that are not prepared for
it, which entails, Katarzyna Kajdanek argues
in her book on Polish suburbia, continual
shifting of responsibility for infrastructure
between local authorities and new residents
in suburbs6. These conflicts are not surprising,
given that chaotically developed suburbs and
outskirts of cities generate considerable infrastructure costs. The present model of spatial
development is a hindrance for a policy that
might reduce the share of private cars in the
total number of travels in cities. Moreover, the
model hampers redefining the policy in terms
of new road infrastructure, which is one of
the key demands of the supporters of the idea
of sustainable transport. It is hardly feasible
to reduce capital expenditure on roads when
new housing estates are constructed in the
middle of nowhere, at a considerable distance
from existing infrastructure and without a
broader urban planning vision. Suburbia can
hardly be served by public transport, especially when it is expected to be self-sufficient.
Low population density raises the cost of
public transport services in these areas to
hardly acceptable levels even in highly devel6
K. Kajdanek, Suburbanizacja po polsku [Suburbanisation
the Polish Way], Kraków: NOMOS, 2012.
oped countries , and in the case of Poland the
situation is worsened by the above mentioned
spatial chaos.
7
Squeezed Between Thoroughfares
Chaotically developed and sprawling cities
are just one of the reasons why ever since
the beginning of the transformation extending road infrastructure has been the top
priority of local governments. Other reasons
include a disastrous condition of city streets8,
and investment backlog with regard to the
preparation of the target road layout in Polish
cities. Attempts to implement long-devised
plans are understandable, particularly since
they are fostered by the availability of EU
funding which, paradoxically, comes from a
place where the idea of sustainable transport
originated and was eagerly embraced. Polish
local governments’ policies should not raise
7
J. Węgleński, Metropolitalna Ameryka [Metropolital
America], Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1988.
8
Information on the results of the works coordination inspection of reconstruction, modernisation and
repairs of roads and accompanying infrastructure in
selected urban agglomerations, http://nik.gov.pl/docs/
inform/030709_remonty_drog_w_duzych_miastach.pdf
(access: 28.12.2009).
any doubts given that many Polish cities still
lack ring roads taking transit traffic away
from centres, where congestion is rising,
and the majority of roads require immediate
repairs. Street construction or modernisation
raises hopes that the road network throughput will increase and cumbersome traffic
jams will be cleared. This policy is criticized,
however, by supporters of the idea of sustainable transport who point out that there is also
a psychological aspect to extending infrastructure. With improved travel quality, people
are encouraged to use cars, which in turn
stimulates traffic growth, and thus transport
difficulties recur9. Proponents of the idea of
sustainable transport claim that this vicious
circle, also called the transport black hole10,
can be broken by promoting alternative forms
of transport and abandoning the concept of
extending road corridors. Still, preference for
public transport at the cost of road extension
and modernisation is rather challenging in
view of modest budgets, regulations fostering
thoughtless spatial development or noticeable
infrastructure backlog, all of which are disapJ. Wesołowski, op. cit., p. 16.
J. Gadziński, Ocena dostępności komunikacyjnej
przestrzeni miejskiej na przykładzie Poznania [Assessment of Transport Accessibility in Urban Space As
Examplified by Poznan] Poznań: Bogucki Wydawnictwo
Naukowe, 2010, p. 27.
9
10
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il. anna zabdyrska
proved by the society still fascinated with
motoring.
If there is to be any sustained development, it
must be in the sense of parallel implementation of old and new models. The question of
transport is a perfect example of imitational
transformation: propagation of individual car
ownership and of the opposing idea of sustainable transport take place simultaneously in
Poland, even if the process took much longer
in Western Europe. There is still a long way to
go to achieve transport sustainability because
local authorities’ policies do not involve
analyses of the potential of various means of
transport or promoting those that would prove
to be the most cost-effective, efficient and least
cumbersome to the surroundings11. Instead, it
is marked by defensive attempts to attract all
sorts of voters: both pro-car and postmodernist ones. Modernist models still fare well, and
are set to stay for several upcoming decades, as
some postmodernists believe. Overshadowed
11
by attempts to make up for infrastructure
backlog and provide road networks in the
suburbs, against the background of liberal
discourse on spatial development and public
transport funding, the car is to strengthen its
dominance, tempting Poles and offering what
alternative means of transport cannot do, or,
even if they can, they do so in quasi-attractive
and unsatisfactory ways.
M. Beim, op. cit., p. 94.
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